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the ride. And now I’ll let you get to your meeting,’ she added, undoing the seatbelt.
    ‘Don’t go for a moment, Sarah,’ he said quickly, and fixed her with the familiar straight blue look. ‘I’m glad we met again, because this is the type of question I couldn’t ask over the phone. You’re not obliged to answer, of course, but there’s something I’d like to know.’
    Sarah eyed him warily. ‘What is it?’
    ‘It’s personal,’ he warned.
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘Does your little girl’s father share your life?’
    She shook her head. ‘No. He never has.’
    His eyes lit with gratifying relief. ‘In that case, Sarah Tracy, will you have dinner with me?’
    Oh, yes, please, she thought, for the second time in minutes, then gave him an equally straight look. ‘If you’ll answer a personal question yourself.’
    ‘As many as you like.’
    ‘Just one. Are you married?’
    He shook his head, laughing. ‘No, Sarah, I’m not. So say yes.’
    ‘Yes, then,’ she said, and smiled. ‘When did you have in mind?’
    ‘Tonight?’
    Sarah stared at him, surprised, and for a moment considered saying she had other plans, just to sound less eager. But only for a split second. ‘Yes. Tonight would be fine.’
    ‘Good. I’ll call for you at eight.’
    Sarah waved as he drove off, then went indoors to find her grandmother coming downstairs, frowning.
    ‘I saw you getting out of a strange car, Sarah. Who brought you home?’
    ‘Jake Hogan.’ Sarah looked her grandmother in the eye. ‘He asked me out to dinner tonight.’
    Margaret’s face hardened. ‘Are you going? You hardly know the man.’
    ‘I’m going out for a meal, Grandma, not a dirty weekend.’
    ‘Don’t be coarse!’ Margaret turned to go back upstairs, but Sarah called after her.
    ‘By the way, I had an invitation to Nick Morrell’s wedding this morning.’
    ‘Really? If it’s when I’m away in Italy I won’t be able to look after Davy for you,’ was the instant response.
    ‘Actually it’s mid-week, when she’s in school,’ said Sarah, swallowing the angry retort she longed to make. ‘I must go. I’ve got homework to do before I’m free to enjoy myself,’ she added deliberately, and gained the hollow victory of knowing her arrow had found its target, by the look on Margaret Parker’s face.
    But Sarah refused to let the incident affect her buoyant mood as she hurried off to deal with the contents of her briefcase. She could sit in the garden tomorrow. Tonight she was dining out with Jake Hogan.
    Work done in record time, Sarah went off to shower in the small bathroom lined with Jake Hogan’s Pentiles. After a prolonged session with a hotbrush and all the cosmetic aids at her disposal, she dressed, and, as a gesture of conciliation, went up to her grandmother’s sitting room to say she was about to leave. ‘Will I do?’
    Margaret eyed the linen trousers and amber sleeveless top with surprise. ‘You wear that to work.’
    ‘I’m keeping the new dress for Nick’s wedding.’
    ‘So you’re definitely going, then?’
    ‘Of course I am. You know I’m fond of Nick. I booked a room this morning. Anyway, I haven’t a clue where I’m being taken tonight so I thought this rig would do for most places.’ She looked her grandmother in the eye. ‘And in case you’re worried about the expanse of bare flesh I shall wear my jacket all evening even if I fry.’
    Although Margaret Parker had been too offended by Sarah’s parting shot to wish her a good time, from the moment Sarah opened the door to Jake Hogan she knew the evening would be a success. His fawn linen jacket was creased just enough to look good, and his smilefilled her with an anticipation she had never felt before sharing a meal with Brian.
    ‘You look wonderful, Sarah,’ Jake informed her.
    So did he, but she kept that to herself in case he took it as a come-on. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘In this heat I thought you might like a meal in a pub garden tonight,’ he said,